One of the centers of this controversy this year, has been the University of California at Berkeley. A troy in the Washington Post (click) tells the story well. First there was a cancelled speech by former Breitbart journalist Milo Yiannopoulos, and then a more recent speech by right-wing sex kitten Ann Coulter was cancelled. Left-wing violence was threatened at both events, so the university cancelled them. I think a university should make provisions for serious discussion of conservative ideas, but I've heard a lot from both speakers that I consider to be hateful and racist - and I see no reason why a tax-supported university should allow its facilities to be used for the expression of racism. As a parent of a recent University of California (Davis) graduate, I was very concerned on several occasions when there was violence on campus in the name of free speech. I think that universities have an obligation to students and parents to see that such violence is prevented, but I don't want to see violent people enabled to use the threat of violence suppress the free expression of ideas.

It's a complicated issue, and I don't have an easy answer. All I know is that I want my kid to be safe on campus, but I also want him to be exposed to a broad spectrum of thought.



-Joe-